Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Stargazer by Laurie Petrou

21 reviews

laerkelikesreading's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Death

raisinreads's review against another edition

dark

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Minor: Sexual content

mik43l4's review against another edition

mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Vomit

sydapel's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Felt like a badly done Gillian Flynn knock off. I'm not against books that examine the darker sides to obsession and violence in women, but I don't feel this author actually executed that and said darker elements felt sensationalized rather than meaningful. I also thought the writing style was overly repetitive and boring, especially for the wild, college party lifestyle the book is supposed to be capturing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Sexual content, Murder, and Toxic friendship

ttumbletree's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

stargazer was a solid 4 ⭐️ read for me.

i was incredibly excited to start the book when i bought it on a whim in a bookstore after seeing it amidst the secret history, if we were villains, bunny and all the other dark academia favorites.
and in many ways it lived up to my expectations.
i have to say it wasn’t quite as addicting for me as i expected it to me. i didn’t mind putting it down for a couple of days and reading something else in between, but in some ways that might have helped my reading experience… i have learned from past mistakes and maybe it’s okay to not binge read certain books… and it probably helped my mental state to not binge the downward spiral that is happening in the book.

the story is dark, and enticing, and intoxicating in many ways. i loved the setting and the dark spiral that you can see from the beginning (or at least i could)
the twists of the story didn’t quite surprise me, simply because i already associated the book with the dark academia aesthetic, but i didn’t mind that either. it made it all the more heartaching to watch the characters drag each other down and to watch every twist and turn lead them to a darker place. 

all in all it’s a wonderfully solid 4⭐️ read and i’m sure i’ll reread it within the next couple years

also: i very much enjoyed all the small pop culture tidbits, the 90s setting and the anne of green gables references :)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

pilarlopezleiva's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Stalking, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol

carlytenille's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Abortion, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

sha's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

if you liked the secret history you’d love this 📚✒️🫀🖤🎨

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

hgrimston's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

a spell-binding tale of female friendship, obsession and jealousy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Drug use, Murder, and Toxic friendship

aimsro's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol